THE BIBLE

Reason 5


I agree with Christianity that the Bible is the complete Word of God. The Bible is the One True Book that has stood strong from the beginning of time. I believe in the scripture that says God is always with us and He will never leave us. I also believe this to mean His word will never leave us.

     Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

     1 Kings 8:57
May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us,

     1 Chronicles 28:20
And David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God-my God-will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

     Matthew 16:18
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

As you can see, He would not have let His church fall away. He would have mentioned at least once that the Bible was not the complete Word of God or that we would need further instruction from Him or we would need help interpreting the Bible. God has given us all the answers we need in the Bible, and modern revelation is not needed to understand the Bible. The books the LDS church has added to the Bible just make the Bible confusing since they contradict what the Bible tells us.

God does not "play favorites." I never understood what made this generation any better than the earlier generations. I never understood why we would deserve the one true church, but everyone before Joseph Smith's time did not deserve it. That's certainly not just... I am no better than anyone who lived before me, so why would God allow me the one true church with the fullness of the gospel but not those that passed away before the 1800s? I just don't buy that.

This past year and a half I have read many, many LDS books to try and understand why the LDS church is the one true church. A good friend loaned a book to me called Biblical Mormonism: Responding to an Evangelical Criticism of LDS Theology, by Richard R. Hopkins. Reading this book was even more validation that I KNOW I have made the correct decision to resign. This guy is so overly critical and he is trying way too hard to prove that Mormonism is right. These are the things I did when I was a member. He is nitpicking minute things and looking for errors in Biblical Christians' perspectives and interpretations of the Bible. He is digging so deep that he has completely missed the meaning of the scriptures that teach us even children can understand how to be saved.

     Mark 10:13-15
Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

So if you really take that book seriously, there is NO way that a child could keep up with what he is trying to prove. There is NO way a child could possibly understand how to be saved from an LDS point of view. This is exactly how I felt as a member. I just couldn't keep up with everything that I had to do to enter God's House, and I am an adult! I was SO exhausted all of the time; not just physically, but more importantly, mentally and emotionally exhausted. I was so busy trying to keep up with church stuff that I completely missed out on a relationship with Christ, as well as relationships with my husband and children.

The LDS church is missing the entire focus of Christianity. They do not focus on the Bible and the importance of Christ and His love for us. The main focus is on Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and members' testimonies. Very rarely did I turn to scriptures in the Bible and if I did, then quickly to follow, I would be turning to the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, or the Pearl of Great Price. The church forces members to interpret scriptures their way instead of God's way. The Bible is complete, period! And because I believe this, there is no way I could remain a member. The Bible is completely clear. There is nothing missing and no further revelation is needed.

     Proverbs 30:5-6
Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His word, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

     2 Peter 1:3
as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue

No other writings or traditions will be given the same authority as the Bible, yet the LDS church has come up with many other books that are equal to or even override the Bible. I am not okay with that. They even push reading the Book of Mormon over reading the Bible. I am not okay with that either, but I suppose that is so testimonies do not begin to diminish.

LDS continue to change prophets' words. Just a few months ago they changed some things in the most correct book ever written, the Book of Mormon. And this was certainly not the first change in the BoM. There have been over 4,000 changes to the most correct book ever written. I mean, the Book of Mormon is from God. Don't you think God would have gotten it right the first time? HE does not change HIS mind. HE felt the same before Joseph Smith as HE felt after Joseph Smith.

LDS also cannot seem to keep their tenets intact. They are continuously amending them to keep up with public opinion of the church or to try and be considered Christianity. The Bible has never been amended or in need of revision. It has only been worded in simpler terms to increase human understanding. No doctrines have been changed, left out, eliminated, or revised, ever.

Here are a couple of websites to show a couple of changes to the BoM, but feel free to do your own search on BoM changes.

carm.org/changes-to-book-of-mormon
utlm.org/onlinebooks/3913intro.htm
saintsalive.com/significant-changes-in-the-book-of-mormon
mormoninformation.com/changes

So to sum it up...
     Christianity or LDS?
     Bible Only or Modern Revelation?

According to the Bible, Only the Bible is scripture.

According to LDS, the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price are all scripture, as well as words of the living prophets.

According to the Bible, the Bible is the inspired inerrant Word of God.
     2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

According to LDS, the Bible is correct only as far as it is correctly translated. It is the only one of the four standard works that is not considered infallible. The KJV is the official Bible of the LDS church as opposed to the Joseph Smith version of the Bible, and this is why I use the NKJV in all of my blog posts.

According to the Bible, IT is accurate.
     2 Timothy 3:17
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

According to LDS, the Bible is corrupted.
     8th Article of Faith
We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

          So why not believe the BoM to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly? Because obviously it was not translated correctly since it has had so many changes and revisions.

     Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 327
"Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors;"

     Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 213
"The Bible has been robbed of its plainness; many sacred books having been lost, others rejected..., and what few we have left, were copied and recopied so many times, that it is admitted that almost every verse has been corrupted and mutilated to that degree that scarcely any two of them read alike;"

According to the Bible, IT is sufficient.
     1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

According to LDS, the Bible is insufficient.
     History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 245
Joseph Smith taught that "many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled"

     LDS Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses 2:75
"The Bible is not a sufficient guide; it is only the history of the people who lived 1800 years ago;"

According to the Bible, IT is complete.
     Galatians 1:8-9
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

According to LDS, the Bible is not complete and new revelation is needed.
     9th Article of Faith
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

According to the Bible, IT is authoritative.
     1 Corinthians 14:37
If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

According to LDS, the Bible is not authoritative and is subordinate to new revelation.
     2 Nephi 29:6
"Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible..."

     Gospel Principles, p. 51-52
"In addition to these four books of scripture, the inspired words of our living prophets become scripture to us. Their words come to us through conferences, Church publications, and instructions to local priesthood leaders."

          What I find interesting about this is: the living prophets override the dead prophets. Why do prophets of God change their mind about God's Word when it is obvious that God Himself does not change His mind? Why would God tell one prophet one revelation and then tell a different prophet a different revelation? That is NOT how God works...

     Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

This was a BIG issue with my family when I was considering conversion into the church. Now I know they were right. Anything added to or taken away from the Bible (or even just the Book of Revelation) is not from God. I can do without the plagues, and I will keep my part in the Book of Life.

     Ephesians 2:19-20
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

No one has any advantage over the other. All Christians have a place in the household of God, not just Mormons. Christ is the foundation. The apostles and prophets of the New Testament laid that foundation for us. Foundations need to be laid only once and the apostles and prophets of the NT did that work for us already. No changes or revisions are necessary, ever.

As a member of the LDS church, all of your decisions are made through personal revelation, so why do you need a prophet to lead and guide you? Why is Christ and His Word not enough for you?

My unanswered questions were:

How can the LDS church be a Christian church when they have added their own scripture they believe to be equal to or more important than the Bible? Do I need modern revelation or only the Bible?

I was initially devastated when I received these answers, yet overjoyed to find the truth that the Bible is the ONLY BOOK I need and I certainly do not need modern revelation to know God and receive answers to my prayers and live with God in Heaven!